An ‘pir’ (spiritual leader) was beaten and hacked to death during an attack on his shrine in Kushtia, Bangladesh, over accusations of insulting religion. The shrine was also vandalised and set on fire.

The incident occurred around 2:30 pm on Saturday in Philipnagar village of Philipnagar union in Daulatpur upazila.

The deceased was identified as Shamim Reza, also known as Jahangir. Local sources said he was the son of the late Jesher Ali of Philipnagar village.

He had completed his studies in Dhaka and worked as a teacher before returning to his village, where he set up a shrine.

Kushtia Superintendent of Police Mohammad Jashim Uddin confirmed the incident to Prothom Alo at around 4:45 pm. He said a video of the man making controversial remarks about Islam had spread on social media. However, the video was recorded long ago.

After it resurfaced recently, locals launched an attack on the shrine. Although police rescued the man, the number of police personnel was too small compared with the angry crowd, making it impossible to control the situation. The mob beat him to death.

The police chief further said, “The situation in the area is now calm. A large number of law enforcement personnel have been deployed. We are investigating who brought the old video back into circulation. I am heading to the area myself and will reach there shortly.”

In May 2021, a case was filed against Shamim Reza at Daulatpur Police Station on charges including hurting religious sentiments. He was arrested and sent to jail at the time. After serving a lengthy prison term, he was released. Locals allege that he resumed similar activities afterwards.

Local residents claimed that he had made derogatory remarks about the Holy Quran in public, which hurt the sentiments of devout Muslims. Tension had been building in the area since morning over his activities. Police reached the scene, but before the situation could be brought under control, an enraged mob attacked the shrine, vandalised it, and set it on fire. (Prothom Alo English, excluding headline)

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